Tag Archives: whodunit panto

HE’S BEHIND YOU! A FUNNY WHODUNIT AND A PANTO ROLLED INTO ONE

You think it’s easy, do you? Putting on a show? For Beau Boots it would, initially, seem stress-free; he’s a professional for one, he’s directing Cinderella for goodness sake, it’s a pantomime version (the most ‘noble’ type of theatre performance) so surely, the theatre gods must be on his side and the rehearsals and the show itself will be taking place in a church hall – so God himself is most certainly on his side too in this funny whodunit.

Beau refuses to let the mistakes of the previous year’s production (we do not speak of them) taint this one…but in He’s Behind You, the ghosts of Christmas past (more real than you would think) threaten Beau’s work once more. A foul crime is committed in this four act dramedy during the show’s debut and Beau Boots production of Cinderella is jeopardized and all eyes are on the pool of potential perpetrators from the production, as guesses turn to prayer, quite literally, in fact.

It is said that the name Cinderella means little ashes. In this context: the little ashes of a sadly ‘pantomomical’ disaster.

He’s behind you has been staged by the Montgomery Youth Theatre in 2015.

FURTHER PRODUCTION HISTORY

St. Patrick’s picnic group, United Kingdom – 2019

Author: Penny Jones

Genre: Funny whodunit

Type: Full length one act play with four scenes. It can easily be split into a two act play at the director’s discretion.

Length: 90-110 minutes

Cast: Main characters: 6M, 3F

Ages of the actors: Young adult to elderly

Suitable for: All ages, aimed at adults.

Set: The play is set in a scruffy church hall where some tables are untidily pushed together with several chairs around, a counter with tea urn and cups, and lots of signs prohibiting everything.

Level of difficulty: 7/10 – characterization – many of the characters are quite colorful.